A Bee in the Heart of Her

A Bee in the Heart of Her

If Nora Helmer, Henrik Ibsen’s famous female protagonist, could speak anything besides Henrik’s text, what would she say? How about Hedda Gabler, Mrs. Sørby or Ellida Wangel? Can characters express themselves beyond their playwright? In song, perhaps?

This is exactly where Sibyl Kempson’s alchemical new work A Bee in the Heart of Her comes in. Over the course of a weaving workshop for recovering Ibsen women led by Mrs. Sørby in a rundown community center, these trailblazing characters confront mistranslations, misunderstandings, mansplaining and everything else that Ibsen got wrong, in detail.

With Kempson’s lyrical text set to original music composed by Robert M. Johanson (Nature Theater of Oklahoma), A Bee in the Heart of Her lets these women tell their own stories and finally set the record straight.

Artists/Collaborators: Daniel Brunet (Regie & Performance), Sybil Kempson (Text, Regie & Performance), Robert M. Johanson (Originalmusik & Performance), Christian Maith (Lichtdesign)

The world premiere of A Bee in the Heart of Her is made possible thanks to an Ibsen Scope Grant from the Ibsen Scope Festival in Skien, Norway, an organization dedicated to highlighting world issues through the works of Henrik Ibsen and an axh grant from the University of Texas at Dallas. It was developed over the course of multiple workshops at English Theatre Berlin | International Performing Arts Center as well as The Mercury Store in Brooklyn, NY.

Thank you to Theater Thikwa and TATWERK | Performative Forschung for the use of their space for rehearsals.

Ibsen Scope Festival in Skien (Norway), University of Texas (Dallas), Mercury Store in Brooklyn (New York)

Next date:

• Date Wednesday, 24/June/2026 20:00 (3 more dates)
• Venue English Theatre Berlin
• Address Fidicinstraße 40, 10965 Berlin-Kreuzberg
• Price from €13.20

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